Signing day: 5 signees who can make instant impact for Notre Dame football

Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly on the top names committed to Notre Dame on signing day
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St. Peter's Prep Shayne Simon #3 in action against Paramus Catholic for the NJSIAA Non-Public, Group 4 high school football championship on Friday, December 2, 2016, in East Rutherford, NJ.(Photo: Gregory Payan, AP)

SOUTH BEND – Notre Dame signed 20 players to its 2018 recruiting class on the first day of the early signing period, which lasts from Dec. 20-22. Brian Kelly joked Wednesday Notre Dame probably had the No. 1 class in the country in terms of number of players signed.

“It’s no easy feat,” to sign 20 players in December, Kelly said.

The Fighting Irish currently boast a top-10 class according to 247Sports. Programs can still add players through Friday and there’s still national signing day in February. Kelly said Notre Dame is “open for business” to add a handful of players ranging from defensive backs to offensive linemen to best available players.

Kelly called this particular group unique because there are quite a few who have the ability to make an immediate impact, he said.

“There are not many of these guys that we go and say, these are projects,” Kelly said. “These are guys that we think can play and academically have been given a thumbs up in terms of the work that they’re doing. That’s pretty darn impressive in December.”

Here are five guys to watch out for next season:

QB Phil Jurkovec, Gibsonia, Pa. (Pine-Richland)

Kelly was asked to name a couple underrated players in this class and Jurkovec was the first player he mentioned. The four-star dual threat quarterback wasn’t under-recruited and could have played at Ohio State, Clemson or Penn State among other Power Five programs. He committed to the Irish in May 2016 and never wavered.

“I think he’s the best quarterback in the country,” Kelly said. “He’s somebody that I could put up against any quarterback that I’ve seen.”

Kelly expects Jurkovec to challenge Brandon Wimbush for the starting quarterback position this spring.

S Derrik Allen, Marietta, Ga. (Lassiter)

Kelly said defensive players — especially defensive backs where Notre Dame is low on playmakers — would have the best shot at earning a starting spot as a freshman next season. Allen could be one of them. He’s a player that defensive coordinator Mike Elko found and told Kelly they needed to zero in on.

“He was the first guy that we saw that had the ability to cover man-to-man, play the ball in the air and get the ball down on the ground with his size,” Kelly said. “That was a trait that we had to have in this class. It was a must, must, must. It was underlined like five times. We have to find this player. So it was all in on that type of player and when we saw that trait, it was just, they had to all be focused in that direction.”

Mix in Allen being a “great student, great character, all the other tangibles," Kelly called him "a home run for us.”

CLOSE

Brian Polian, Notre Dame's special teams coordinator and a key recruiter, discusses the team's commits they picked up on signing day.
Laken Litman/IndyStar

Rover Shayne Simon, Jersey City, N.J. (St. Peter’s Prep)

Simon will be an interesting piece for Notre Dame next year with Drue Tranquill returning for his fifth year. He’s physically ready to play and will give the defensive staff an opportunity to figure out a way to get both of those guys on the field together. Kelly was excited about Simon’s potential on Wednesday.

“His ability to pick things up, he’s a very smart player,” Kelly said. “I think when you talk about (the rover position), playing close to the ball certainly helps. His size. Here is a guy that is over 210 pounds already, physically mature but also very smart … Shayne is an exceptional player and a guy that we feel can compete right away.”

DT Ja’Mion Franklin, Ridgely, Md. (North Caroline)

Notre Dame continues to strengthen its interior defensive line — which is getting crowded — with the addition of Franklin. He’s nearly 300 pounds and Kelly sees him playing in the middle.

“Ja’Mion has the ability to play the shade for us,” Kelly said. “He has that ability to lockout, hold the point, but also has that quickness at the position. He’s going to be a 300-plus pound player at that position where you’ve got have the ability to hold the point in there.”

Kelly mentioned him and fellow signee Jayson Ademilola as freshmen who could follow a similar track to playing early like Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa and Kurt Hinish did this season.

DT Jayson Ademilola, Jersey City, N.J. (St. Peter’s Prep)

St. Peter's Prep Jayson Ademilola #57 in action against Paramus Catholic for the NJSIAA Non-Public, Group 4 high school football championship on Friday, December 2, 2016, in East Rutherford, NJ.(Photo: Gregory Payan, AP)

Ademilola, whose twin brother Justin, a defensive end, also signed with Notre Dame, has been committed to the Irish since June 2016. The Irish defensive line is pretty packed at the moment, but Kelly believes Ademilola and Franklin will get opportunities early.

“Jayson has a little bit more of the length and athletic ability to play the three,” Kelly said. “They were a great complement in terms of a shade and three out there early on that we saw. We thought they complemented each other very well.”